Why Rent the Runway?

Those of you who know me closely, know I have raved about the Rent the Runway service for years. I genuinely believe in its business model and purpose. So as a disclaimer to all, I am writing this article freely, of my own accord despite my ambassadorship to the company. I actively pursued Rent The Runway for the ambassadorship because of how strongly I believe in the company and how actively I marketed for it. I just thought I wouldn’t mind getting a little something extra for all the free advertisement I was already doing for them;)

Below I have listed all the reasons why I have enjoyed Rent the Runway so much myself!

But first, let me do a quick breakdown of exactly WHAT Rent the Runway really is!

Rent the Runway (abbrev. RTR) is a clothing subscription service where you rent your clothes rather than purchase. You can either do a one time rental or choose from 3 different plans….

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Here’s how it works!

Our memberships give you access to thousands of styles of your choosing for a flat monthly price. Zero commitments—you can pause or cancel at any time.

Pick a Plan

Whether you want new items delivered to your door every week, or you’re looking for a monthly wardrobe pick-me-up, what and how you rent is entirely up to you. Each of our memberships start with 4 items at a time and vary based on how often you wish to receive new shipments. Our memberships are completely customizable and designed to evolve as you do. Add or remove spots and shipments as you see fit.

Choose Your Items

After you’ve picked your plan, you'll be prompted to build your first shipment! Browse the RTR closet and choose from thousands of styles from over 700 designers. All items in your first shipment will arrive dry cleaned and ready to wear in our reusable garment bag.

Mix. Match. Wear. Repeat.

Style and wear your items for as long as you’d like — there are no return dates. Love something so much you want to keep it forever? Buy it! Ready for something new? Let us know which items you’re returning and start building your next shipment.

One Time Rentals

Reserve Styles for 4 or 8 Days. Need a show-stopping look for an upcoming event? Choose your outfit and select a delivery date 1-2 days before your event. When your 4 or 8-day rental period is up, place your items (and the hangers and plastic — we recycle them!) back in the garment bag they came in. Then send it back using the prepaid shipping label. We’ll handle the dry cleaning.

NOW! Here are all the reasons I love it!….

Here’s why I love RTR!

Styles you couldn’t afford otherwise
Something I really love about RTR is the brands they have available. A lot of it is high ticket brands with unique styles, great quality, and more “high fashion” trendiness that I otherwise would never be able to get my hands on! I’m constantly dressed in garments ranging from the $200 range to even the $3,500 range! Renting a $900 bag to carry for the week feels like no big deal! Recently I rented a super cute green set that I would have loved to buy in store, but could never have, as it retailed for a total of over $400. Which is astronomical for a casual, meant-for-everyday-wear set! The color was also a unique bright green which could make it something you tire of quickly or have trouble incorporating into your wardrobe. Renting this piece allowed me to feel absolutely fantastic for a day (or a few, however long I choose to keep it), felt like a million dollars (because it basically was), but for only the amount of time I wanted it for! And if I have plans coming up in which I would like to wear again, all I have to do is rent again! It’s basically an infinite closet in which you have access to all styles any time you want!
Great option for limited closet space
I initially jumped aboard the rental service ship when I lived in Manhattan and had limited closet space. I’m the kind of person who loves trends. Not because I feel like I need to stay on top of or ahead of the curve, but because I just love change! I love to switch things up, try new things! And my closet (and bank account) just wasn’t elastic enough to fit this lifestyle! I found myself spending more time and money trying to make things fit in my tiny closet and apartment space. Buying more storage, rearranging clothing to make it fit where it clearly didn’t. RTR allowed me to have an unlimited wardrobe, while only taking up the storage of 4 items at a time!
Love trends, but tire of styles quickly
As I mentioned above, I love the trendy. I love the ever changing, ever updating, ever revolving wardrobe. I budget $200 a month to “shop,” as I neeeeed at least one new outfit a month… Now $200 rarely buys a whole outfit, so I found the only thing I could really afford was Zara. Now I love Zara and fast fashion despite the rap it gets. It allows me, a broke fashion lover, access to styles we saw on the runway for an affordable price. However, what you generally sacrifice with affordable (at least fast fashion affordable) is quality. After so many wears or laundry cycles, it’s not the same garment you initially purchased. Maybe there’s shrinkage, raveling, or dulled color. Also as mentioned, I tire of things quickly and easily. So I found myself spending that $200 monthly on short-term, low quality clothing that I eventually could no longer keep anyway. So I decided to try the 16 item subscription just to see, as it was the same cost as my monthly budget! And have basically never turned back :)
Build out your wardrobe
So with the ever changing wardrobe, it also allows you to continue to build out your own wardrobe. RTR recommends that if you rent the same piece more than 4 times, you should make the purchase! It allows you to essentially test run the garments before making that big purchase decision! RTR has all the styles, from super colorful and trendy, to high quality basics! You can rent, or BUY, it all!
Buy styles at a discount
If you choose to buy, RTR gives its subscribers a discount! Depending on how long the garment has been available and the number of rentals, this discount could be up to 90% off! You can buy the pieces you’re currently renting, any new styles to the site, or choose from their giant “sample sale” collection which is generally where the steep discount items are found.
Great for those one-time-wear special occasions
We all have those occasions where you need a nice dress that costs a pretty penny that you know you’ll literally NEVER wear again… Well RTR has a giant selection of top designer styles you can rent for that one time wear, and then return! Don’t front that cost!
Cold weather rentals
More “one time wear” pieces might be some of your winter gear! Rather than wearing your same go-to coat all winter long, switch it up with some fun styles with crazy colors or textures! Coats are a big purchase, so we generally shy away from, idk the fuzzy orange ones or leopard prints! RTR is a great source for access to these styles without fronting that cost! Additionally they offer ski suits and other heavy winter wear that may be inconvenient to store.
Real customer reviews
Like Amazon, RTR allows customers to comment and post pictures under every style. I find these SUPER helpful as other customers leave comments on whether you should size up or down if shoulder straps are too long, whether it was comfortable to dance in at a wedding, or great to wear for an 8 hour work shift! Some even include descriptions of their height, weight and body build with a photo so you can get an idea as to what the garment might look like on you! However all of this is optional, so you are not required to do the same, and you can share as many or as few details as you would like when leaving a comment (if you choose to do so)! I personally find these super helpful, and it just feels like a great community of girlfriends who are just there to have your back and make sure every outfit you try looks great, and fits you perfectly!
Not responsible for damage
You are not responsible for any damage caused to a garment. Whether it’s a zipper malfunction, a ripped seam, or bad stain, RTR “covers the insurance fee.” Likely this cost is bundled in with your monthly cost, but if you happen to break a zipper or get a wine stain on that $1200 Cristian Siriano, that $1200 is not on you…
Noncommittal
A lot of reservations about a subscription service is that commitment, but RTR runs on a month to month basis! It automatically bills you each month but you are free to cancel or pause your membership at ANY TIME, no hassle! If there’s a month or more you know you won’t need/want any rentals, you can simply put your account on hold and you will not be billed until you are ready to unfreeze it. If you are ready to cancel for whatever reason, your subscription will be canceled without any hassle from associates.
Excellent customer service
Speaking of no hassle associates, I have only ever experienced top notch customer service from RTR. They are ready and willing to help you with whatever you need, whenever you need. With one time rentals, they allow you to rent your size and one more size up or down to ensure the fit is correct for your occasion. If you are a full subscription member, they allow free express shipped size replacements for your first orders while you learn your size. They have helped me switch in-transit dresses when I had unexpected travels come up and needed a garment re-routed. They have given me no hassle about damaged garments, nor when I needed to pause or cancel my subscription! Though sometimes their customer service phone lines are busy, they give you the option to leave your name and number that they will speedily call you back on. They are patient and excited to answer any questions you may have about your service, their different plans, recommendations in sizing, whatever it is you may need! Because of what a great experience I have had with their customer service, I trust them fully and completely with my money. I never fear I will not get a refund I deserve, or an over-charge I don’t. They truly put their customers first, so I have not hesitations or reservations about being screwed over, which is unfortunately an all too common issue in fashion.
Sustainable
Finally, RTR is a sustainable company. Taken directly from their site: “Every time you rent, you are participating in the shared clothing economy. We hope this helps reduce
the amount of clothing that ends up at the back of our members’ closets and in landfills. The average woman throws away about 82 pounds of clothing per year. Renting things you’d only wear a few times is a more sustainable answer because more people sharing clothing
means less clothing waste. Once our garments are no longer suitable for rent, we do our best to extend the lifecycle of our garments further. For example, we offer them for sale through Sample Sales or donate them to carefully-selected organizations like Dress for Success and Operation Prom.”